I begin today a run through the next 12 days of the Christmas Season with some thoughts on gifts for your favorite Austen fan or gifts to add to your own “Want-List” – if you have been “nice” and not naughty all year [please do check Henry Tilney’s dispute over the meaning of the word in Vol. I, ch. 14 of Northanger Abbey], you might find some of these under your tree!

Day 1. A miniature edition of Emma, from Plum Park Press  [see update on a second printing below!]

Minitaure Emma from Park Plum Press

Alas! when I first contacted Tony Firman about his Emma, there were two copies available, and now there are none.  He writes that a second printing might be in the offing if there is enough interest.  So take a look at this and see if you would like to add this to your Austen collection.

From his website:

In December 1815 John Murray published Jane Austen’s novel EMMA. As was the fashion of the time, it was published as a “triple-decker”, that is, a book in three volumes. A triple-decker typically consisted of a total of about 900 pages, or about 300 pages per volume. Correspondingly, the Plum Park Press miniature edition of EMMA appears in the same three volumes. The miniature format provides much the same page-count as the original.

The text is set in 6-point Bulmer, a typeface that was designed in 1790, and was relatively new when Emma was published. It is a very readable typeface, even in this small size. 

The end-papers are different in each volume: in Volume I they show a recent photograph of the house at Chawton, Hampshire, where Jane Austen lived for the last years of her life; and in volumes II and III they show period illustrations of the social life of the time.

The three volumes are bound uniformly in bright red Sturdite (faux leather), with spine labels of black with gilt lettering, and housed in a decorative slipcase. 

The Plum Park Press miniature edition of Jane Austen’s EMMA consisted of 12 copies. SOLD OUT 

A second printing is a possibility. If you are interested, please contact me.

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There is no mention of the exact dimensions of this 3-volume set, but other titles seem to be about 3″ x 2.5″ or so*.  If you collect minitautre books, this is a must have; if you collect Jane Austen, ditto.  Also note on Tony’s website the Christmastime special sets:

UPDATE:  I have just heard from Tony that there will indeed be a second printing!

Hi Deb! – Yes, I just sold the last copy of Emma, and I have already decided that I will do a second printing. I have already begun on the first copy, so I will probably begin offering them for sale in January. I plan to make another 12 copies maximum. 

The complete set in its slipcase is 85 mm (3-3/8”) high, 68 mm (2-3/4”) wide, and 60 mm (2-3/8”) deep. Each volume is 76 by 55 mm (3” by 2-1/8”); thickness varies slightly, since volume 1 is 260 pages, volume 2 is 280 pages, and volume 3 is 300 pages.

Watch the website for ordering information. Should be some time next month!

Regards, Tony 

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• For more information see Tony Firman’s website: http://www.tonyfirmanbookbinding.com/
• Information on the miniature Emma: http://www.tonyfirmanbookbinding.com/Austen.html
• The Minitature Book Society: http://www.mbs.org/

c2012 Jane Austen in Vermont